daycare using baby oil for projects

Can someone tell me if I am incorrect but my daycare has been using baby oil with the kids to do projects. I thought this was a big no-no because its a petroleum by-product and should never be put in mouth. Of course, that is what my son does all the time with his fingers. The kids are anywhere from 8 months to 15 months. I want to approach the daycare and say never again but would feel better with literature to back it up so none of the kids are playing with it.

It was in the curriculum that came from corporate that the daycare I used to work at. We hated it so we didn't use, but it was a sensory thing, and we were told to mix it with paint to see how it works and stuff like that. You also play with baby shampoo and things like that, based on the curriculum many centers use.

They are mixing it with paint. Pictures posted on daycare wall. I actually emailed Poison Control. I started posting bits/pieces of email but figured I would just post my email to Poison Control and their response so the entire picture is available. I am really surprised that this is often used in daycare settings. Seems pretty risky.

I sent:

Hello,

The daycare my son attends (he is 14 months old) has recently been using baby oil for projects with the kids. I am not certain what the projects have been, it just stated on his daily sheet that he did a project with the oil. It was my understanding that baby oil is quite hazardous to children and should not be used, especially with children who always have their hands in their mouths. I would like to talk to the daycare and tell them that my son is not allowed to do any projects that involve the baby oil, and I plan to later today when I pick him up, but I also think that this substance should not be used with the other children either. Is this correct? Should I ask the Director to not allow the use of the baby oil with these kids? I just want all the kids to be safe. I can find a number of websites that tell me its not a good idea but I donâ€™t really want to go to the Director with information taken from a conversation between a couple of parents or someoneâ€™s blog. I want the info to be valid and credible. She is a fantastic Director and I cannot imagine her using a product that would put any child in danger. I personally think this is a situation where the label says â€œBabyâ€ on it and the assumption is that the product is safe with babies.

Thanks,

my name

Their reply:

I am in complete agreement with you. Baby oil should not be used around any child who is not supervised one on one. There are many cases where the oil is swallowed and enters the lung, causing difficulty breathing, and even death due to lung failure. I would also tell her not to substitute other types of oils, which may have similar problems.

I removed the name of the Doctor to try and provide a little privacy for this person since this is on the web :)

Don't they make sure the kids aren't eating the paint? I wouldn't be any more worried about them using baby oil or shampoo or whatever mixed with paint than I would be about them using paint in general. My daughter is in preschool (so she's older) but anytime they use paint or something that requires extra supervision, they break the kids up into smaller groups and work with two or three at a time so they can more closely supervise. I would expect similar precautions (probably even smaller groups) to be taken with younger children during these types of activities. If you're concerned certainly talk to the daycare, but I wouldn't assume that they are uneducated or being careless with your child's safety. If those are your initial reactions, I'd honestly look into another daycare. Your mind shouldn't immediately go to them being unsafe.

Liz, they honestly couldn't stop kids from putting their hands in their mouth with paint on it at the daycare I was at. 4 toddlers to one adult, and at our center, we had to have pictures of each kid doing each project to hang with the artwork on the wall to prove it was them doing it. While taking a picture, 3 kids can be eating paint and they weren't going to just pay someone extra "unnecessarily". I agree that it SHOULD be done the way you explained, but it wasn't done that way.

Different things get added to paint at daycare so its not the Same craft all the time. Cornstarch, oil, flour, sugar, salt, shaving cream etc. We also always added hand soap because it made it easier to wash off hands.